U.S. singer-songwriter Chris Brown was charged by Los Angeles prosecutors on Thursday with two felonies, including assault and making a criminal threat against his girlfriend and pop star Rihanna.
The 19-year-old R&B star was allegedly assaulted Rihanna, a 21-year-old Barbadian singer and former beauty queen, in a Los Angeles area after a pre-Grammy Awards party last month. Brown's arrest just hours before the Grammy ceremony on February 8 made sensational entertainment headlines.
Brown is scheduled to be arraigned late Thursday after at the downtown Los Angeles courthouse on the two charges.
The criminal complaint alleges that the crimes occurred when the alleged victim, identified in the complaint only as "Robyn F.," during an argument as the two were driving to a home in the Hancock Park area. Rihanna's full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty.
Los Angeles police, who never identified Rihanna as the victim, said the woman was in a car with Brown and an argument broke out. Brown stopped the vehicle, the pair got out and the argument escalated, according to police.
A police report said that the woman "suffered visible injuries and identified Brown as her attacker." When police arrived, the woman was there but Brown had already left.
Brown later surrendered to police at about 6:30 p.m. on February 8, while the Grammy Awards were being handed out at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. Brown and Rihanna were scheduled to perform at the ceremony, but both canceled.
Brown publicly issued an apology about one week later, and recent reports said that the two had reconciled.
If convicted on the two felony counts, Brown faces a sentence ranging from probation to four years and eight months in state prison, prosecutors said.
(Xinhua News Agency March 6, 2009)
